


Nyctophobia

by toad_in_the_road



Series: New Dream Appreciation Week 2021 [2]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Dark Magic, Darkness, F/M, Horror, Monsters, New Dream Week (Disney), New Dream Week 2021 (Disney), Possession, Prompt Week, Survival Horror, im gay, royal duties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29463345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toad_in_the_road/pseuds/toad_in_the_road
Summary: Day Two: Royal DutiesThere are rumors of a beast lurking in the woods of Old Corona.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Series: New Dream Appreciation Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161998
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Nyctophobia

**Author's Note:**

> oh hell yeah, here we go :)))

Eugene sighed deeply, and then regretted it immediately. The donkey was smelly.

“I know you’re bored,” Rapunzel said, looking like she was starting to run out of patience as well. “But wouldn’t you rather be bored than scared?”

“Mm,” Eugene said. “I dunno. We’ve been sitting here for hours with a stinky donkey for bait, and there’s been no sign of a mysterious beast.”

The donkey snorted, quite insulted, but Eugene ignored it. “You know, you didn’t have to come,” Eugene told Rapunzel. “Hunting monsters is kind of a captain of the royal guard thing.”

“Well, you’ll need all the help you can get if it’s really a monster,” Rapunzel said. “Besides, we already dealt with werewolves, and that wasn’t bad at all. This beast can’t be worse.”

Eugene shrugged, but the comparison of this beast to Catalina somewhat unnerved him. Catalina never hurt anyone. She would never. This beast, supposedly having stalked the outskirts of Old Corona for a few weeks by this point, left a trail of dead livestock in its wake. Details were scarce, as details of monsters tend to be, but everyone who caught a glimpse of it had nothing to say about it except that it had big eyes. 

And based on the blank, haunted look that slid over anyone’s face that talked about the monster, those eyes were quite a sight to behold.

Eugene shivered slightly as a crisp breeze blew through the forest, the leaves shaking with him. He fumbled with the lantern they had brought, and a flickering orange light surrounded him, Rapunzel, and the donkey as the sun began to dip low in the sky. 

“We should probably head back soon,” Eugene said. “It’s getting dark, and we didn’t bring anything other than a lantern.”

Rapunzel frowned. “We didn’t find anything.”

“We can go search on foot in the morning,” Eugene said. “It’s getting cold.”

Pascal squeaked in agreement from Rapunzel’s shoulder, trying to hide behind her short dark hair with little success. Rapunzel looked unsure, but the donkey snorted grumpily and yanked on the lead tying him to the tree, and she sighed. “Alright, I guess you’re right. Maybe we can wait just a little longer?”

“Sure.” Eugene said, setting the lantern down, scanning the edges of the lantern’s light. He knew, logically, that his eyes were playing tricks on him when he saw shapes moving along the shadows in the woods. He had dealt with this a million times before when he was on the run, and it was far less scary now, especially with Rapunzel by his side.

All the same, he had to fight to keep himself from startling every time he saw movement. _You’re fine,_ He scolded himself. _Chances are, there’s nothing out there and your mind is playing tricks on you. If there is something, it's an opossum or something. And even if there is some kind of beast, you’ve got Rapunzel. We can take it on together._

The sun seemed to disappear faster than a flame doused with water, and crickets began to chirp, far quieter than they usually were. The approaching winter silenced most of them, but a few cling stubbornly to summer sounds. It was surprisingly relaxing, and even the donkey’s mean huffs and the sudden screech of an owl didn’t startle Eugene anymore.

He was just about to tell Rapunzel they should head out when he heard it. Or rather, the lack of it.

As if a conductor was cutting off an orchestra, the woods suddenly went silent. 

Eugene stiffened, waiting for the noise to start again as if the woods were taking a breath, but nothing happened. He glanced back at the donkey, the animal’s ears pricked forward with interest at something Eugene didn’t see. How could he see? It was nearly pitch black; clouds swallowed the stars, and there was no moon tonight. 

Eugene glanced at Rapunzel, partially to see her reaction, and partially to give himself strength, and saw she looked just as startled. 

He heard it for real then; a nearly indescribable sound echoing from the forest. It started as a howl, and then turned into a high pitched whoop that echoed dramatically, making it nearly impossible to identify the source of it. The whooping continued, overlapping over itself, but somehow Eugene was positive only one thing was causing it. It sounded...human. But with an edge of something unidentifiable, almost otherworldly. A chill spread over him, and this time he couldn’t pretend it was from the cold.

“I think…” Rapunzel said, whispering for some reason. She trailed off, staring into the woods, as if afraid something would get her if she blinked. Eugene felt about the same, slowly standing up.

“Yeah.” He agreed raspily, deciding “manliness” be damned, he wasn’t going to wander around a dark forest with no backup with something that made those awful noises.

Eugene’s movement stirred the donkey from it’s stillness, and it brayed loudly, kicking. The sound had the same reaction as someone suddenly jumping out at them from the shadows. Rapunzel and Eugene jumped badly, and he nearly dropped the lantern. Pascal had the worst reaction. Instincts taking over now that Rapunzel’s hair was no longer a suitable hiding place, he squealed, jumping off her shoulder and fleeing.

“Pascal!” Rapunzel gasped, stumbling after the frightened chameleon, leaving the small ring of light. The darkness swallowed her almost instantly, and Eugene raced after her. 

“Wait, Rapunzel, stop! We’ll get lost, we gotta-” He cut himself off, suddenly slowing. Rapunzel was nowhere to be seen. He knew he was faster than her, and she had barely a one second head start on him. But here he was, surrounded by darkness and whoops, without even that stupid donkey for company. 

“Rapunzel?” He called, trying to keep a tremble out of his voice. He received no answer. 

The whoops grew to a crescendo, and Eugene clapped his hands over his ears, ignoring the sting of the lantern’s hot glass against his skin. He refused to set it down, terrified of even the slightest possibility of it going out. 

Whatever was making the noise let out a scream, high-pitched and raspy. If Eugene was forced to guess, he would have said it sounded human, but human with a footnote. A long footnote. 

The comparison almost amused Eugene, but the amusement curled into something sickening when he realized the woods were going quiet again. He gulped, slowly pulling his hands away from his ears, holding out the lantern and squinting into the darkness. He hated how exposed he felt. The panicked part of his mind screamed at him that there was something behind him, but every time he looked, there was only blackness.

“Rapunzel?” He called out, hating out scared it sounded.

“Hello.”

The voice that spoke was most definitely not Rapunzel, unless Rapunzel’s voice suddenly turned masculine and dropped about five octaves, which was unlikely. Eugene yelped before he could stop himself, whirling around to try and see the source of the voice, but there was nothing there.

“Who are you?!” He demanded, trying to disguise his fear with anger. “Show yourself!”

“Or what?” The voice mocked, and Eugene still could not discern where it was coming from. “What will you do? Yell at me?”

Eugene gritted his teeth. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“Who am I? I don’t know,” The voice said, and for some reason that admission made Eugene feel sick. “It has been a very long time. I can’t say what parts left are mine and what parts are everything else.”

“What?” Eugene asked, dizzy from spinning with the lantern so much. 

“You could not understand.” The voice said, though it didn’t sound sad or resigned. Just very certain of itself. “No one ever understands. Not really.”

“You’re the beast.” Eugene said, his mouth dry.

“I suppose.” The voice said. 

“You suppose?” Eugene asked. “You’re scaring people, what do you want-”

Something thick landed behind Eugene, and he jumped, practically falling over himself to see what it was. A thick rope was lying on the ground, frayed and torn. The rope they had used to tie the donkey up. It was covered in blood now.

Eugene felt bile rise in his throat. “Show yourself.” He demanded again.

There was a clicking sound, almost like a squirrel. For some reason, Eugene got the impression he was being scolded. “Are you afraid of me?”

“No.” Eugene said.

“Don’t lie to me,” The voice said. “I don’t like liars. I know exactly who you are. Enough whispers reach me here. Secrets travel well in the dark, you know. You’re the man with three names, but the one you like is Eugene Fitzherbert. It’s wise to have many names, you know. That way, if someone takes one of your names, you will have more to fall back on.”

Eugene swallowed hard, deciding not to read into the implications of the names right now. “And you? What’s your name? Do-where’s Rapunzel?!” New panic suddenly shot through him, and he stormed forward, guessing a source of the voice. All he came to was dark trees.

“Rapunzel…” The voice said slowly. “Now, that’s a name I have never heard.”

“Where is she?! Did you hurt her?! I swear, if you even...” He trailed off as the voice suddenly laughed, high-pitched and chattering, sounding vaguely like bats.

“I have not been following anyone else,” The voice said. “Only you.”

“Why?” Eugene asked, and then suddenly wished he hadn’t asked.  
“I have been around for a very long time,” The voice said, and Eugene got the distinct impression that it was circling him, despite the voice still not having a clear location. “And I have started to...well, decay. And quite badly. I have been using this body for a long time. It is far past it’s expiration date, not to mention my vessels tend to...deteriorate in rather creative ways once I have a hold of them.”

Eugene didn’t say anything, and the lantern light shook in his trembling hands. “And I do not intend to leave yet. But I am in need of a new vessel. And then, here you are, right in my home. It almost feels like an invitation.” The voice purred. 

“Get away from me.” Eugene said in a low voice.

“It does not hurt,” The voice said, and Eugene felt vaguely hysterical, and was positive his gasps for air were echoing. “At least, I do not think so. I never asked.”

“I said get away from me!” Eugene shrieked, stumbling over himself. 

The lantern light went out.

It was as though he had been struck blind. Eugene stumbled, trying to find something to grab onto. He dropped the lantern, and heard glass shatter. It didn’t matter. He just had to get out of here before that thing got him, because he didn’t completely understand the whole “vessel” thing, but he didn’t really want to, and knew that it was going to be bad for him.

“Darkness,” The voice said, sounding content. “Utter darkness. No one really quite seems to understand its beauty. I would have thought you did, man with three names. As I said, secrets thrive in darkness, and I would be willing to wager you have a few.”

“Stay back!” Eugene shouted, shrill and desperate, torn between wanting to reach out for a tree and terrified he might accidentally touch this creature. 

“But you wanted me to show myself.” The voice said.

Eugene waved his hands blindly, desperate for any kind of anchor in the complete blackness that could have held anything, but right now it held this beast that only wanted to do him harm. Distantly, he was slightly relieved that the thing had no interest in Rapunzel, and he prayed to any higher power that might be listening that she would make it out of this hell unharmed, even if he didn’t.

“Over here.”

The voice had a clear location this time, and before Eugene could stop himself, he tilted his up towards it.

Two eyes, massive and blank, stared down at him, unrelenting. They were the color of mushrooms that appear on dead things, the ones that stank and spread rot along the forest floor. They were glowing, the only source of light in the woods, but Eugene wished that he couldn’t see them.

His body locked, and the breath he had been trying the draw suddenly became trapped in his throat. He felt his heart skip a beat, and wasn’t entirely sure if it started again. His mouth was dry and as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t look away from the thing’s blank, xanthous eyes. 

“Are you afraid?” It asked softly, almost gently. Eugene couldn’t answer. 

It made a clicking sound, never breaking eye contact. “You’ll like the dark.” It said, and in Eugene’s limited peripheral vision, he saw something reaching out, skeletal and decayed, and his mind flashed to when Gothel had disintegrated, in those moments before she had turned to dust when she was a screaming corpse. 

This was a quiet corpse, and it smelled like blood.

Eugene felt something brushed his arm, and he would have screamed if he remembered how-

Something shuffled behind him, and the eyes flicked upwards to the noise. It was barely a beat, but it was long enough Eugene to gasp as the beast broke eye contact, stumbling back and heaving. 

Bright orange torchlight suddenly made him flinch, and Rapunzel practically threw herself at the beast, waving the torch. The beast screamed, the same high-pitched noise as before, recoiling from the light as though it burned. Eugene only got a glimpse of a mottled, vaguely skeletal figure before it retreated to darkness, wailing.

“Eugene!” Rapunzel turned back to him, grabbing his arm. “Are you alright?!”

“How did-” Eugene gasped. “When-?”

“I looped back to the village by accident,” She gestured to the torch. “They said not to go after you so I grabbed a torch and ran.”

“You-” Eugene tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a cry of pain. “You probably should have listened.”

Rapunzel opened her mouth to argue, but suddenly whirled back around when the wails grew louder. “STAY AWAY FROM HIM!” She shouted, all five foot and three inches of her looking incredibly imposing.

The beast snarled something animalistic, his voice no longer in one spot, seeming to echo from all around. “How dare you,” It hissed. “How dare you, how dare you. You will pay for your insolence, you stupid girl!”

“Hey, buddy, that’s my fiance you’re talking about.” Eugene said, standing up, grabbing Rapunzel’s hand.

The beast growled, and Eugene caught movement in the corner of his eye. An appendage of some kind, likely an arm, shooting out for Rapunzel. “Rapunzel-!” He warned, reaching for his sword, but she saw it too. She jerked away, jabbing at the appendage with her torch.

The results were instantaneous. The beast sprang away, but it was too late. It’s arm went up in flames, and soon its entire body was up in flames like it was made of dry hay. It wailed-somewhat understandably-clawing at itself as if trying to scoop away the flames, but to no avail. It reached up at the sky and screamed, far louder than it had been before, and Eugene had to cover his ears again, but the sound still seemed to pervade his mind. 

It reached out, trying to claw at Rapunzel, but this time Eugene stepped forward, swinging his sword. He sliced off one of the beast’s appendages, and it fell away, clutching the fiery stump. It fell to its knees, still screaming, and Eugene was unsure if it was saying something in a language long forgotten or it was simply in the throes of death, trying to make as much noise as possible before it left. 

The screams devolved into hissing and snarling as it fell, jerking, on the ground. Smoke was starting to pool around it, and it had an odd yellow tint to it that Eugene didn’t like. He grabbed Rapunzel’s hand. “Come on!” 

She squeezed his hand, and they ran into the woods, towards the village, their way lit only by embers and cries as the light swallowed the beast.

*** *** ***

The next day, when the sun was high and the woods were loud and cheerful again, the village went cautiously in, looking for the remains of the beast.

All they found was a circle of burnt grass that smelled like decay.

**Author's Note:**

> the way i wrote a shit ton of lore for this rad antagonist that no one will ever see
> 
> unless....
> 
> say hey on tumblr!
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/toadintheroad


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